Hikaru No Pro Go
by claire-1010
Summary: This story begins right after the hokuto cup,  i hated to see the seires end so i made up a continuation
1. Chapter 1 Post Hokuto Cup

(I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

Title= Hikaru No Pro Go

Chapter 1: Post-Hokuto Cup

Shindou Hikaru sat brooding about his lost against Ko Yeong Ha in a taxi between Touya Akira and Yashiro Kiyoharu, his teammates in the recent Hokuto Cup.

"Shindou! Did you hear what I just said?" shouted Kurata Atsushi, the manager of the team from the front passenger seat.

Shindou looked up quizzically, only to receive a sigh from Kurata before he repeated himself.

"When we get back to Touya's house, we'll review your game first, all right?"

Shindou merely nodded his head then went back into his own world, earning worried looks from the teens on both sides of him.

" If Touya had responded here, maybe he would- SHINDOU ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING!"

Shindou jerked upright and apologized automatically; he had been too busy thinking about Sai that he had missed nearly all the reviews.

Kurata tried to calm Yashiro who was fuming by suggesting that they order in dinner. It has been 4 hours since they started reviewing the games and he felt that they needed a break, not that he didn't want to continue, but Shindou looked like he was about to collapse.

"Let's order sushi then move on to Yashiro's game, I want to get a good night's rest before going home tomorrow after breakfast."

Shindou leaned back on the folded futon and tried to hold back his tears for the millionth time today, he had missed Sai dearly, and it did not help that he felt he disappointed Sai by losing to Ko Yeong Ha.

15 minutes later came Touya carrying 6 boxes of sushi, Kurata smacked his lips before grabbing three which was for him. Not long after, Yashiro and Touya were saying 'Itadakimasu'.

It was after his first bite that Touya realized that Shindou was still leaning against the futon, not touching his food. He went over and nudged his rival who was staring into space.

"Huh…Oh!"

Shindou stirred then turned to look at Touya with blank eyes before reaching for his dinner, Touya stared at him in awe.

It was 11 o'clock in the morning when Shindou finally stepped into his own room; he threw his rucksack across the room, leaped onto his bed and poured his feelings out. After a few ten minutes, Shindou drifted off to sleep.

The God of Go sat on his magnificent throne, in front of him was a table with an orb on top. In the corner lay a gleaming go board with the stones. The God of Go always wanted an equal to play with, but had found none. However, there are some people who might stand a chance such as Shindou Hikaru. And for that reason did he send Fujiwara no Sai to him, but he did not expect Shindou to be this dejected when it comes to this time it was even worse than the last time.

When he saw Shindou's teary face through his orb, it was the final straw. He could not let Shindou's talent go to waste. Urgently, he mumbled a few words and Fujiwara No Sai appeared before him in a puff of smoke.

"Fujiwara No Sai, do you wish to be reunited with Shindou Hikaru?" asked The God of Go in a booming voice.

"Yes sir, my only wish is to remain with him until he ceases to exist." Answered Sai.

"Very well, I will send you back to him; however this will be your very last chance. Afterwards, I guarantee that you will pass away with true peace?" Sai nodded while still kneeling.

"I will also grant you a 'spell' so that when you say the word, only one other person will be able to see and hear you besides Shindou Hikaru. Hopefully this will find me an equal soon."

"What word sir?" questioned Sai

"You will know when the time comes, now, go and save this young and nurturing talent."

With that The God of Go murmured something and once again, Sai disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Author's note

This is my first shot at writing this, so please forgive me for the lack of vocabulary or any other mistakes

I hope you had enjoyed the first chapter because this is far from over I will update the chapters weekly (maybe).

Please review!

Thanks :D!


	2. Chapter 2 Sai's return

Chapter 2: Sai's return

_Hikaru…Hikaru…._

Shindou Hikaru jerked awake suddenly; he was certain that Sai had been calling his name, he glanced around his room but found no Sai. He lay down again, feeling both disappointed and sad.

"A dream huh…" he thought out loud

_No Hikaru…It was not a dream, I am Fujiwara no Sai._

"Sai…SAI! Where are you?" Now Shindou was absolutely sure that it was Sai. A few seconds later Sai appeared graciously in front of him.

Shindou sat gaping at the glamorous figure in front of him as tears streamed out of his eyes. However, this was tears of happiness.

"Sai…Where hav-"

"Hikaru…I know I have left a lot of questions unanswered but I will tell you everything later. Now, I have come back to play more go and will be with you until your last breath."

"Really? You will not go away again? You promise?"

"I promise. Now, will you forgive me for running off?"

"Of course! I'll forgive anything except disappearing! Besides I'm the one who should be sorry for being so selfish."

"I'm very glad to hear that."

Both exchanged smiles before Sai switched into the same old childish side Shindou always knew.

"Hikaru! Let's play!"

"Okay, I'll get the board out!"

Touya Akira waited nervously near the lift in the Go Institute for his rival. It has been five days since he had last saw him and, given how he had taken the loss against Ko Yeong Ha, is not likely to show up for his oteai match.

His anxiety is changed into joy when he saw Shindou appearing out of the lift. He immediately walked into the game room to get ready for his match against Fukasa 5-dan.

As Touya was marking down is victory, he noticed Shindou walking putting on his shoes gleefully—meaning that he had won against Aisawa 2-dan.

After Shindou marked his victory, both pros walked side-by-side to the lift before Touya asked "Shindou, can you come to the go salon now, I want to see how you did."

Shindou nodded and entered the lift followed by Touya.

" Shindou! Were you sleeping while playing this? It's horrible!"

"My opponent resigned so quickly! How the hell am I supposed to play seriously!"

" EVEN SO, THIS IS TOO LOW A STANDARD! Sometimes I wonder if I chose the wrong rival…"

"I DARE YOU TO REPEAT THAT!"

"FINE! MAYBE-I-CHOSE-THE-WRONG-RIVAL!"

"WE'LL SIT AND PLAY A GAME RIGHT NOW TO SEE WHOS BETTER!"

After content with screaming at each other, Touya and Shindou sat down on their respective chairs and cleared the board to prepare for a new game. Leaving the other patrons to wonder how they could change their emotions so quickly.

Beside Shindou, Sai was staring at the pros in disbelief; how can two young adults bicker like preschoolers was out of the question.

Touya felt his palms sweating as he gawked at the last move Shindou made. They were nearly in the end game and that one white stone had nearly scared the life out of him…It was too familiar…

Suddenly, a thought struck him. _This was nearly the same as the one that he played with 'Sai' through Netgo._ It attacked both the center and the upper-left. Even if he read ahead, he could feel that he would lose by a 3.5 moku…the only option is to…

"I resign."

Touya bowed his head then helped Shindou clear the stones. After they had placed the stones back in their boxes, Shindou yelped as he glanced at his watch; 20.36.

As shindou rose from his seat hurriedly to get his bag from Ichikawa Harumi, the receptionist for the go salon, Touya rushed over and grabbed Shindou's wrist then dragged him outside.

"Ow! Ow! What's the problem Touya?"

"That last move you made! That's similar to 'Sai' on the Netgo!"

"W-What are you-"

"Don't play dumb Shindou! Tell me your connection to Sai!"

Touya let go and stared in Shindou's eyes, waiting for a reply. Shindou, feeling pressure from his blazing eyes pleaded for Sai to help.

_Sai…Should I tell him?_

_Hikaru…I don't mind if you tell him about me, but only tell if you really trust him and think he will believe you. That's all I can tell you. Besides, hiding it further will only ruin your relationship with him._

Shindou let Sai's advice sink in. He took a deep breath and faced his rival.

"Do you know a place where we can talk privately?"

Touya let out a small grin before saying in a serious tone "I have a small study room upstairs in the salon."

"That's good enough," With that, they headed back into the salon.

Author's notes

In case you are wonder who are the pros Touya and Shindou played against in this chapter, they are all made up! Yeah, stupid names right? But for ones that have a major role in this story, I'll use the names that Hotta Yumi (round of applause please!), the author of Hikaru no go, thought of.

I'm sorry that I don't know how to write an actual game, so I ended up skipping the game and on to the important parts. Hope its ok

Please review!

Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3 The unperfect Touya Akira

Chapter 3: The (un)perfect Touya Akira

(I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

The moment they stepped into Touya Akira's study room, Shindou had sweatdrops all over his face and his fingers, or rather hands never stayed in one place for more than a second. As they sat down on opposite sides of a coffee table, Shindou only seemed to be less comfortable.

"I…err…um", Touya was starting to have pangs of guilt for forcing the answer out of his rival. He certainly didn't want their relationship to end like that, but his curiosity about Sai had pushed him to do so.

" Sai…is my mentor…and friend." Shindou began nervously as Sai could only watch anxiously.

He took a deep breath and continued "You were the closest, as well as Waya to figure out who he is…but you were both only half right. Before I tell you anything more, you need to know one fact, and it is that Sai was actually also playing through Sh-"

Suddenly,as if on cue, a loud ring filled the room. Shindou fished out his phone and said "Sorry, mum's calling. Gotta go, Bye!"

Quick as a flash, Shindou rushed out of the room, his face filled with relief. And before Touya could even do anything, Shindou was out of earshot.

"What the—" was all Touya could stutter. If he hadn't received all those lessons on manners, he swore he would've cursed Shindou's phone until he ran out of breath.

What's more is that Shindou was reaching a very important point. _Sai was playing through who? And what does that even mean? Arrrgh! He could just scream!'_

Not only did this dampen the relationship between him and Shindou, it also left him even more questions than before!

He went down the stairs carrying a look filled with disappointment. He collected his bag and walked out of the salon, deep in thought.

00:37 [Sat] is what was displayed on Touya's digital clock. But Touya was very far from being asleep; in fact, he had been pacing around his room for an hour already.

After countless more rounds of pacing, Touya at least figured out one thing; he shouldn't pry the answer out of Shindou like what he did today. Shindou did promise him that he was going to reveal the mystery one day, and he was going to be patient and wait for 'one day'.

Touya sighed as he collapsed onto his futon, as he glanced at his clock, he almost screamed! It was 3:45 am and his first shidou game in the morning starts at 9 am.

*5 hours later*

Touya found it to be very hard not to collapse as he staggered out of the front door. He had to forgo breakfast since he was already running late. And with the lack of sleep and the mystery of Sai also weighing him down, one would find it a task to even stand upright.

He finally had time to rest when he boarded the MRT and slumped into the nearest vacant seat, however, it was even a greater task to keep his eyes peeled open. When he could not take it any longer, he stood up, held onto the nearest pole and remained like that throughout the journey to the Go Institution.

"Touya-sensei, it's your turn." Touya's eyes widened as his client reminded him for the…well, he didn't count, but a lot of times that's for sure.

"Ah…sorry about that sir…" He smiled apologetically as he placed his white stone into place. This was his last game before lunch break and he was really grateful for it.

"Arigato Gozaimasta*" Both bowed to each other before the client left with what looked like a dissatisfied look. Touya could not blame him though, as his play was no better that a 20 kyu today.

As he was on his way to the soba restaurant just across the road, he bumped into Ogata Seiji, his father's pupil. A smirk crept upon the older man's face as he stifled his laughter.

"My my, Touya-kun, you look…_awfully_ _good_ today, judging from the…_attractive_ bags under your eyes, I assume that you had stayed up all night?"

Well, Ogata's words certainly perked Touya up. Although latter had enormous respect for the former, Ogata could not help getting on Touya's nerves with his sarcasm and skeptical looks.

Touya gritted his teeth and forced a smile "Why, you are nearly correct, Ogata-san. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to lunch," Touya practically ran out of the go institute.

If anyone who knew Touya Akira and saw him in this state, with baggy eyes and messy hair, they'll be shocked. Touya can barely lift his head off the table as he mumbled his order to the frowning waitress. The 'perfect' Touya Akira has his bad days after all, but this is not as worse as it can get. However, the source of his worries…

Is actually having the time of his life right now!

Author's Notes

*Arigato Gozaimasta= Thank you very much

Touya Akira fans may not like this chapter, but don't worry, the next chapter will give the poor guy a break. Please don't hate meee~ I'm Sorry~ o~

I'll try to update weekly and btw English is my second language : ) (that would probably explain my lack of vocab) I'll keep my other personal details secret for now.

I apologize for the really big 'letdown'… but it seems Shindou wasn't ready to tell Touya yet.

To make up for it (maybe?), here's a little skit

Me: Touya!

Touya: hm?

Me: Nothing!

Touya: *rolls eyes*

10 sec later…

Me: Touya-kunnnn~

Touya:What?

Me: Nothinnnn~hehehe…

Touya: grrr….*keeps composure*

Another 10 sec later

Ogata: Touya-kun! There's…

Touya: Yes? *glaring*

Ogata: Erm…Nothing

Touya: Grrr….*begins to lose composure*

Another 10 sec later

Shindou: Oi! Touya! There's something…

Touya: WHAT? *nearly breathing fire*

Shindou: Err….Nothin', geez chill out baka

Touya: Arrgh! *Lost his composure*

Unknown to Touya Akira, there is a drop of bird shit on his head.

Touya: What have I done to deserve this? I'm gonna strangle you Claire!

Me: Sorry sorry~ Anywayyyyys~ Thanks and please reviewwwwwwwww~ Helpppppppppppppp~

*Due to certain 'difficulties' this skit is over, goodbye and have a nice day! :D*


	4. Chapter 4 Safe!

Chapter 4: Safe!

(I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

~Ring~

"Ah…my mum's calling now I gotta go, bye!" Shindou Hikaru shot out of Touya Akira's study room like a bullet train while listening to his mum 'remind' him to call when he's late. To be honest, he had never been more grateful for his mother's nagging than now.

Shindou sprinted out of the go salon and into a nearby alleyway. Panting, he leaned back on the dusty brick wall and fell down. Suddenly, without warning, tears came streaming down his flushed cheeks.

'_Hikaru…Gomenasai…Don't be sad…I shouldn't have asked to play Touya…gomen gomen!'_

'_Nevermind…I had also forgotten that he knew too much to risk it, and I'm not sad…just relieved.' _Actually, Shindou had never forgotten, he just wanted to grant Sai's wishes as much as possible.

'_But—'_

'_Forget it Sai! I forgive you!'_

The ghost remained silent as his human friend caught his breath and wiped his eyes. For a while, neither uttered a single word before Sai suggested that they go back now.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'_Sai…I'm telling you that I forgive you, besides my mother saved me. So why are you still sulking?'_

Shindou is now on the MRT while reassuring a sulky Sai. They were 2 stations away from their destination and Sai still had a black cloud above his head.

'_I just feel guilty; I made your relationship with him become worse by asking to play.'_

'_Nevermind that! Maybe Touya feels a little guilty too; we just need a little space before it'll turn back to normal'_

'_Really?'_

'_Yeah.'_

'…_Ne ne HIkaru, do you wanna play Shido or study kifus tonight?'_

'_Let's go for Shido.'_

Unbeknownst to the ghost, a smile crept on Shindou's face as the ghost ranted on. Sai was back to his usual childish self and he was glad that he did.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'_Hikaru! Hikaru! Wake up!'_

"Sai…what's wrong?"

'_You promised to take me out today!'_

"Huh…Oh yeah…" While they were playing speed go last night, Shindou had promised, to the delight of Sai, to take him out the next day when he remembered that he and Sai never did anything else besides go.

"What time is it now?" Shindou mumbled sleepily as he groped for his alarm clock on the bedside table.

"What the…SAI! I SAID I WAS GONNA TAKE YOU OUT AT 11! NOW ITS ONLY 6:30! I'M GOINGING BACK TO BED!" Shindou cried out in frustration and rolled over in a huff, earning a whimper from Sai.

"Hikaru! Everything all right up there?" Shindou Mitsuko shouted up worriedly.

"Yes Mum, don't worry!" Her teenage son shouted back.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'Okay…Where do you wanna go first?'

Shindou and Sai are standing near the escalator of a bustling shopping mall. Sai grinned childishly as he bounced towards an accessories shop, Shindou sighed as he quickened his pace to keep up with his ghost friend.

"Ne ne! See this hottie with bleached blonde bangs at the rings section near the cashier?"

"Yeah yeah! Kyaaa~ he's so cute! I wonder if he has a girlfriend."

"Baka! Men wouldn't walk in a girly accessories shop alone without a reason! He must've come to buy something for his girlfriend."

"Aww…That sucks….He's just too cute!~"

"Shh! He'll hear you! Come on! Let's go!"

Unfortunately, Shindou overheard the conversation between the two young ladies and felt uncomfortable. He had never once thought that he was 'hot' or 'cute', Sai, on the other hand was gazing at the rings without a care in the world.

'_Sai…Can we go to another shop now? We've been here for 20 minutes already and everyone's staring at me.'_

'_Another 5 minutes pleaseeee~'_

'_Okay okay! I'll wait in front of the store so come out when you're done.' _With that, Shindou rushed out of the store followed by the cashier's angry stares.

*5 minutes later*

'_Where to next?' _Shindou asked as they stolled along the third floor.

'_Let's go into that big bookstore over there! Maybe there are go books there!'_

'_Of course not! That's a manga store, nevertheless, let's go in anyways.'_

Shindou had also wanted to buy the latest issue of 'One Piece', a manga about a man named Monkey D. Luffy who wants to become a pirate. As he was browsing through the shelves, Sai called him out from another section.

'_What is it?'_

'_That book looks interesting, and the main character has your name too!'_

'_Oh…I finished 'Hikaru No Go' ages ago, the best and only manga about go… written by 'Hotta Yumi', too bad it finished…it was a good story.'_

'_hmm…maybe I'll read it someday.'_

They spent about an hour in the manga store and left after Shindou bought the lastest One Piece manga.

'Sai…I'm hungry, can I eat first?' Once the ghost gave his approval, Shindou made a beeline for the nearest ramen shop, Ichiraku* which is just opposite the manga store.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'That ramen shop is good…maybe I should drag Waya, Isumi-san and them here'

'I think Waya prefers sushi…but anyways let's go!'

After 15 minutes of wandering aimlessly, Sai spotted a small shop that sells go stuff. And of course, both headed straight for it.

Once they were in the shop, both went separate ways—Sai to the Kaya boards and Shindou to the kifus. They were engrossed with the merchandise that they never said a word to each other apart from Shindou's 'don't wander off!' reminders.

At the same time, around 15 miles away. An exhausted Touya Akira was ordering his lunch in a soba shop near the Go Institution.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'Thanks for buying the go stones** I wanted…although I can't even touch them'

'No big deal! Besides I've got plenty of cash to spare from my matches.'

'And yet you still depend on your mother'

'heh heh….Oh look! Balloons!' Shindou diverted his attention to the guy selling balloons nearby.

Fortunately for Shindou, Sai was too distracted by the 'colourful floating objects' to argue with him.

The pair decided to take a stroll in the park on the way home after an hour more of walking.

When they entered the park, Shindou sat on one of the wooden benches while Sai rolled around in the grass like a 7 year old.

'_Hikaru…What will you say when you meet Touya again? You can't avoid him forever,' _Sai turned serious after he had enough of rolling around.

'_I don't know, but one thing's for sure, I'm not telling him a single thing about you.'_

'_But you should tell him one day…he knows too much already.'_

'_I'll wait until we both are ready, I don't want Touya to think I'm mental.'_

'_How about Waya?'_

'_No Way! Although he knows as much as Touya., He's my best friend and all but he'll just think I'm a lunatic! Heck, maybe he'll even ship me off to mental hospital or something!' _

'_You seem so against it'_

'_Heck Yeah! I still want my friends you know! And why are we arguing? Forget Touya for now.'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

At the same time…

"Achoo!"

"Are you okay Touya-sensei? That's the third time already,"

"Yes, thank you for your concern Iba-san, lets continue."

The elderly lady just shrugged then concentrated on her shido game with Touya.

'_Maybe someone is talking about me…or am I sick? Oh forget it! Concentrate, Akira concentrate!' _Despite his thoughts, Touya found it incredibly hard to stop himself from sleeping although he had just drunk 3 cans of black coffee. His eyelids drooped and just when he was going off to dreamland…

"Ano...Touya-sensei? It's your turn now."

"Ah! I apologize, ma'am"

"You know sensei, you really need a day off."

"Oh, not really."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Touya Akira clung onto the pole like his life depended on it. Anyone who looked at him will think the guy is drunk as his cheeks are also slightly pink. But Touya is just tired….no, completely worn out.

It is now 7pm and Touya is on the MRT going home. He had to hold the pole for support otherwise he would faint from exhaustion, both physically and mentally.

Touya staggered out of the MRT doors when it reached his destination. The world seemed to be spinning. How he walked from the station to his house without falling, Touya didn't know. Maybe it's the sheer thought of his futon that kept him going.

Touya opened the door and took off his shoes. His willpower didn't last any longer. No sooner had his shoes been neatly placed on the rack than he collapsed right on the doorstep.

"Akira? Is that you? What's that….sound…Oh! Akira are you all right!"

Touya Akiko appeared from the kitchen and shrieked at the sight of her sixteen year old son. She put her hand to his forehead and gasped; Akira had a slight fever.

Author's notes

Okay, this only looks bad (for Akira)… but I _promise_ it'll get better. So Akira fans, have mercy on me please~ Don't leave meeeeeee~

This is the longest chapter I made; I hope you aren't bored of this chapter… The next one will definitely be more interesting…maybe?

*= Ichiraku is the same remen shop that Uzumaki Naruto (from Naruto and Naruto shippuden) goes to. He is the same age as Hikaru now and also likes ramen.

**= I don't know if the stones can be bought separately from the board, if can't then sorry for the error.

btw I'm going to Thailand, Bangkok on 25/11/11…you know….the flooding country :( …in South-east Asia. (Still don't know? go look at the world map.)

Please please please review…otherwise it'll look like no one's reading this TTOTT.

Thanks! :)


	5. Chapter 5 Where's Touya?

Chapter 5: Where's Touya?

(I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

'_Hikaru, hayaku hayaku*! You're gonna be lateee~'_

'_Wakata Wakata**, I'm running as fast as I can!'_

'_Why can't you wake up earlier? This is an important match you know!'_

'_Arrgh! Stop moaning! Not my fault that I'm not a morning person!'_

Today is the Tengen 3rd preliminaries, and the match today will determine who gets into the league and who starts over next year.

'_Hikaru! Run faster!'_ Screamed Sai

It was now 9:57 am, the match starts at 10:00 and they were a kilometer away from the Go Institute. Shindou had overslept [[Claire: Not surprising -_-;]] and despite the fact that he never showered and skipped breakfast, they were still running late.

_Ping!_

The lift reached the 6th floor and out came a heaving Shindou Hikaru sho-dan. However, he hadn't had time to rest, it was now ten o'clock sharp and he had to register his name and take his place. '_It was thanks to his playing soccer every week that he could run so fast***' _Sai had commented.

Shindou suddenly appeared out of nowhere, from the person-in-charge's point of view. So naturally he had a huge shock when a panting and sweating sho-dan came up, scanned the room and plopped down onto his seat.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

** 2.5 hours later**

_Buzz! The signal for lunch break._

"Everyone, please stop your clocks." The person-in-charge said before leaving the room.

Shindou sighed and glanced around the room worriedly, he wanted to make sure he hadn't been hallucinating. He hadn't seen Touya when he scanned the room for his seat. He looked around and confirmed that Touya indeed was not here, and the goban he was supposed to play at was empty.

Shindou rushed to the scoring board, leaving his opponent to ponder how a mere sho-dan could corner him, a 6-dan, so easily.

When Shindou reached the scoreboard, he found that Touya had lost by default and had to begin in the 1st preliminaries next year. His brain was whirring with confusion.

'_What the hell is going on! Touya skipped a match! That's so unlike him!'_

'_Relax, Hikaru…you have your own match to concentrate on afterwards.'_

'_How the (Beep!) do you expect me to relax? This is the _"perfect" _Touya Akira we're talking about!'_

'…_Then why don't you call him after this ends'_

'_Fine….I'll try to finish this as quickly as possible. Hey, you don't suppose that this has got something to do with…err…the incident on Friday?'_

'I'm not sure, although I think it may have an effect on him.'

'Knowing Touya, he probably thought about it over and over again until he either forgot about today's match or his head burst'.

'Yeah, Touya's this type of person…unfortunately…'

"SHIT!" cursed Shindou as he banged his fist onto the wall and pulled his hair. He was so loud that almost all the people in the same room turned to stare at him. However, Shindou merely walked to the lift as if nothing had happened.

When Shindou was out of sight, many who had seen his outburst including Ochi Kousuke, flocked to the scoreboard in curiosity. They found nothing out of the ordinary except Touya Akira losing by forfeiture.

The news spread like wildfire, Touya Akira 3-dan forfeits match! But many still wonder why Shindou Hikaru sho-dan cares about Touya so much. Shindou had punched the wall so hard that it now had a fist-shaped mark and some specks of blood.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ochi stared at his soda as his brain sorted out all the information. He had seen first-hand that Touya sees Shindou as a rival. This just proves that Shindou also sees Touya as that.

_Ping!_

Speak of the devil; Shindou Hikaru stepped out of the lift. Of course Ochi never bothered to greet him, but he tried to see Shindou's facial expression. It was hard to do so as his bleached bangs covered his eyes and nose completely; Ochi studied him and saw that his right hand is covered with bandages.

_Buzz!_

The signal that ended lunch break sounded; Ochi threw the remains of his soda in the trash and proceeded to the match room.

_Buzz!_

Everyone started their clocks and silence filled the room once again.

Ida 6-dan sat smugly opposite Shindou sho-dan. He was brimming with confidence. His brown hair parted on his plump face as he shifted his overweight body on the cushion—he needed to lose some weight, his friend Gokiso 7-dan had said.

'_He had me cornered in the first half…but this is just the beginning of the middle game. Heck, he could corner me probably because I underestimated him big time. But sorry kid, I'm going to floor you!'_ He hadn't left his seat the entire lunch break because he was studying the game from move 1 and came to that conclusion.

_Clak_

_Clak_

_Clak_

Shindou paused; he put the black stone back in the goke and thought for about ten minutes.

_Clak! _Shindou slammed the stone down a little too hard, he looked around the room for a moment before turning back.

_Clak_

_Clak!_

This time it was Ida's turn to stop.

'_That move…is it a mistake…No it definitely is a mistake, most lower-dan pro make this mistake…heh! I'm winning this! Hmmm…Gokiso is playing him next week…I should tell him this kid is not worth his time.' _

He shook his head slightly to keep himself from thinking other things

Clak Clak! Clak Clak! Clak Clak! Clak Clak! Clak Clak! Clak Clak!

Ida froze. He looked at the board, he looked again. He was going to lose both the bottom left and the bottom right if he didn't do anything. It was win-all or lose-all.

Suddenly, he saw a weakness in Shindou's territory, quickly, he put a stone there.

'_Did you think I would fall for your petty trap? It's now eat or be eaten! Stupid boy!'_

_Clak! Clak Clak! Clak Clak! Clak! Clak! Clak! Clak! Clak! Clak!_

Ida's hand stopped mid-air as he stared at the board in shock. The weakness he thought he had infiltrated perfectly had been a fake…no, bait. He had fallen for the actual trap and, as a result, placed the stone in the weakness. That move was wasted when Shindou put a cluster of his stones in Atari, forcing him to respond right where Shindou wanted.

He put the stone on the board to what he thought was the best move available. Shindou did a tsuke*** a few seconds later. Ida immediately defended the cutting point…

Too late! Shindou used his next move to disconnect Ida's stones. Things were not looking good for him as he fell deeper into Shindou's trap. He roughly calculated their territory…he sweatdropped, Shindou was already leading by 6 moku.

_Whoosh~_

Ida looked up and saw Shindou open his fan up to cover the bottom half of his face. He misunderstood and took this to be mockery; he angrily slammed the stone down.

Clak! Clak! Clak! Clak!

When Ida stopped for more than 10 seconds…

Ton! Ton! Shindou tapped his fan on the goke

Ida is a person who perseveres. He tried his best to ignore the annoying tapping sounds as he laid out his newly thought out trap. _'That kid will surely fall for this! It'll teach him to mock me, a 6-dan!'_

He grinned broadly and looked up. Expecting to see a look of horror or shock, but instead, his own face was full of terror. Shindou' looked like he could kill, especially his eyes, they were similar to that of a hungry lion.

Clak! Shindou countered his trap instantly and gave him an icy glare. Ida felt like he had been frozen to death. He then realized he had been playing a lost game for over 15 moves already.

"I…resign." He choked out the words.

"Arigato Gozaimasu!" came a quick reply as both cleaned up the stones. They had only taken up thirty minutes of the second half.

"He probably cheated…and I too had underestimated him….yes, that's right! There's no way a mere sho-dan could get the better of me…yes yes now I get it…" Ida muttered under his breath and cursed. Unfortunately, the accused heard every word and his eyebrows shot up instantly.

"If you think I cheated, why don't we have a rematch someday? Mr. Sore Loser." Shindou asked in a cold voice.

"Humph! Fine! But why not now if you're so confident?"

"I'm in a hurry. So if you want that rematch then I suggest you quickly arrange it now! Shindou said hotly.

"How about tomorrow? 11 o'clock at the playing area on the 2nd floor? Unless you're scared?" Ida asked with a slight laugh.

"Fine! If you're even 5 minutes late I'll win by default!"

"Same to you, kid."

Shindou stormed out of the match hall with Sai tailing behind him.

'_That man is so damn arrogant! With his skill, it's a wonder how he became 6-dan! Heck, he probably cheated!' Shindou emphasized the word 'cheated' and continued in a more gentle tone 'Sai…can you please play that guy, go with your full strength. Slice him in half so he don't dare show his fat ugly face to me again!'_

'_Sure…That guy! I dare say he had cheated as well! Has he no pride? I swear I'm going to crush him regardless of what you say!'_

'_Eh? He cheated? How?'_

'_When you were looking around the room for something after the game continued, he moved your stones so it looked like they had only one eye when there were two! Honestly, you couldn't even see that?'_

'_No…well nevermind, that time I was thinking about Touya. This reminds me…I need to call him.'_

Shindou marked his win before fishing out his handphone. He punched in Touya's mobile number and waited; no answer.

'Answer! Dammit!' Shindou could just throw the phone at the wall.

'_Do you have another number?'_

'_No…Oh wait, I could try his house number…'_

_Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep_

"Konnichiwa, this is Touya Akiko; may I know who's speaking?" Shindou put the phone on loudspeaker so Sai can hear.

"Um…Konnichiwa, I'm Shindou Hikaru, a friend of Touya…kun" He stumbled on the honorifics "Can I speak to him please."

"I'm Sorry; Akira is down with a fever since Sunday."

"Oh…Is that why he never came to his match…?"

"Yes…Didn't the Go Institute tell you?"

'_Hikaru, ask if you can visit.' _Sai mouthed

"Err...No…Um…Can I visit?" stuttered Shindou

"Oh…yes you can…When?" Touya Akiko sounded a bit surprised by the sudden request.

"4 o'clock?"

"Wakatimasta****"

"Arigato Gozaimasu…Sayonara"

Shindou ended the call and turned to face Sai.

'_Why two hours later? Surely the train ride is not that long!'_

'_No…But I'm hungry again! Let's go eat first!'_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

*In a ramen shop*

"Gotsosama!" A content Shindou said.

'_Since we still have 1.5 hours left, why don't we play a game?'_

'_Yeaaaa~! Shidogo or an even game?'_

'_Even…let's nigiri.' _ Shindou replied as he took a mini portable goban out of his bag.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

*1 hour later*

'Arrrgh~ Sai! Have you no mercy? I always lose so badly against you in an even game!'

'On the bright side, you only lost by 10.5 moku. Compared to 2 years ago when you lost by 30.5 moku at most, it's a very good you know?'

'All right, geez you're too good.' Shindou stuffed the board into his bag and took out some kifu paper with a red and black marker'

'Are you gonna record our game?'

'Yeah, may as well give it to Touya as a get well soon present.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah'.

_Scribble~ scribble~ scribble~_

'_I don't think anyone can read this illegible handwritting' Sai commented_

'…_Urusai…'_

_Sai scanned the kifu. 'Black…Shindou Hikaru, White…ghost…Eh? ghost?' _

'_Yeah. I'm testing Touya, he'll know that white is you. And if he puts two and two together, he'll know that you're my teacher. If he doesn't, then I'm not telling him anything about you.'_

'_Wow…for once you do something smart…'_

'_Hey! What's that supposed to mean?'_

'_Nothing~~~'_

After bickering with Sai, Shindou took one look at his watch and…

"Omy God! It's 15:50! I'm lateeeeee~!" The whole store turned to look at him.

Shindou hurriedly grabbed his belongings and rushed out of the shop. *****

'_I wonder how he'll be on time tomorrow for the re-match against that cheater….'_

Sai asked himself as he followed Shindou out of the store.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Author's Notes

*hayaku = hurry up

** Wakata = I get it (informal)

***tsuke = putting your stone next to your opponents stone

**** wakatimasta = I get it (formal)

***** For those who think that Shindou ran out without paying, you're wrong. Most Japanese stores pay while ordering…Same as Mc Donalds *****

I apologize for any errors. If you find any please tell me so I don't become a laughing stock :(

Thanks for the past reviews (although there were only 4 YoY). The reviews are like my motivation energy bar, more reviews =more motivation.

For anyone who wants to know, I'll be going to Los Angeles on 3/12/11

Please Review!

Thanks! :)


	6. Chapter 6 Ida Zaru 1kyu

Chapter 6: Ida Zaru 1-kyu

( I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

**Yea~~~ reviews~~~ ^_^ I'm so happyyyyyyyyy~ I'll 'ans' reviews here and now :) **

**MalaikaNina: yes English is my mother tongue (translation: English is NOT my 1****st**** language ^_^) . I would also prefer to visit Japan T_T but I'll have to make do with the budget T^T.**

**Silverleaf Ishtar: well, that was really embarrassing =/= to know that I screwed up in Japanese. But believe me its way better to know now than use the same mistakes only to realize many chaps later that they're mistakes. Thx! ^_^/**

**Akusen: That's one of the many things I 3 abt Sai (he acts all cute when he says 'ne' o/)….I guess I was too impatient to have Sai back that I rushed it.**

**Once again, Thx for reviewing! Every review counts!**

**Enough ranting…Enjoy!**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Sorry to intrude".

"Oh, no problem at all, Akira's room is the room on the far left on the 2nd floor".

"Um…thanks"

Touya Akiko smiled as she shut the door. She had always wanted Akira to have friends his age; she made a mental note to ask him about Shindou.

Shindou entered the huge ancient Japanese style house with Sai who was whining the whole journey.

'_I'm tired! Hikaru! Couldn't you have asked Touya's mom where the house was? You made the wrong turn TWICE!'_

'_I can't help it if I got an E in Geography! Anyhow their house is not easy to spot. I also got lost when I came here with Yashiro. He was complaining the whole way…like you.'_

'_If I were solid I would've bashed your head with my fan… but who's Yashiro?'_

'_The guy who played 3__rd__ board in the Hokuto cup…here we are, the room on the far left…'_

Shindou opened the door and found that he was facing the toilet.

'Ano, Hikaru this is the far **right**, not left.' Sai emphasized the word 'right'.

'_Ususai! If this house was any bigger I would've needed a GPS to find my way around!'_

Despite his protests, even a five-year-old could see Shindou's cheeks turn crimson.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Touya Akira was studying Chinese in bed when he heard his door slide open. When he saw who it was his eyes widened in shock. Shindou Hikaru was the very last person he'd expect to visit.

"Uh…Hi?" Shindou sounded unsure, his face was slightly pink and his breathing was heavy.

"Hi…have a seat?" Touya gestured to the chair which was tucked neatly under his desk.

He closed his book and leaned against the wall. (His futon is right beside the wall) Shindou ignored the chair and sat right in front of him.

As soon as Shindou was seated, Touya apologized for prying. He promised not to ask until Shindou was ready to tell. Shindou accepted the apology much to Sai's and Touya's delight.

"Yep, I'm so NOT telling you anything…yet!"

"Hahaha?" Touya didn't know how to react.

… Silence…

"Hehe, I never thought I'd see the day you get sick." Shindou changed the subject.

"Everyone gets sick; I'm not a Robocop so I could get sick." Touya refused to be made fun of.

"Hmmm, you have a point, ," Shindou shot back.

"Well you started it, ," Touya wasn't giving in.

Both glared at one another and chuckled. 'Maybe _this is the sign that everything is back to normal,'_ Sai thought happily.

"Oh yeah, how was your game today?" asked Touya.

Sai's brow contorted and Shindou pulled a face, "Oh please don't remind me of that old fatso."

"Huh? I don't even know who you're playing. Why? Did you lose?"

"Of course not! I would never lose to that cheater!" Shouted Shindou angrily.

"_And a sore loser" _Sai added.

"He cheated? How? Who?"

"I think his name was Ida. He's a 6-dan and he looks like a pig in a wig, very hard to miss him." Shindou's lips curled up. "But despite being 6-dan, he plays like a 1-kyu, don't even know how he became pro with that skill."

"Ida…Ida…Oh, Ida Zaru 6-dan! I played him around three weeks ago, I crushed him. You?"

"Of course I crushed him, but do you remember every opponent you play against?"

"Obviously not! When I played him he resigned 30 minutes later—the weakest pro I played against; so I remembered him."

"…Maybe he was nervous? No match can end that fast unless it's speed go! He was probably scared of the fact that you're Touya Kouyo's son."

"That may be. But in the 30 minutes I could gauge that his strength was about a 1-kyu, like you said. So he's the weakest pro I ever played against." Touya frowned

"The worst part is that he cheated. When he thought I wasn't looking, he slid one of my stones so it looked like that cluster had one eye instead of two eyes!" Shindou banged his fist on the floor.

'_But I saw that,' _Sai chimed in.

"Then why didn't you say so!" Touya was outraged that a pro could do such a thing.

"With his strength, I could crush him even with a 5 stone handicap. Anyhow, I had no proof…" Shindou lowered his voice dangerously.

Seeing as things did not look good, Touya diverted his rival's attention to something else.

"Forget about that cheater. Wanna play?"

Shindou nodded as he pulled his mini portable goban out of his bag. "I'm so beating you this time!"

"Hai hai, whatever you say. Of all the games I played against you my win:lose is 15:2, don't forget that."

"But someday, we'll walk side by side! You just wait!"

"I'm looking forward to that day."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I told you I would beat you!:p" the pro with blonde bangs stuck out his tongue.

"Don't get cocky! It's only by a half moku!" His opponent retorted

"But unfortunately half moku is still a win~" Shindou said gleefully.

"Fine! Guess that makes my win:lose 15:3! Happy?" snapped Touya

"Yes :)"

Touya groaned before leaning back against the wall. Shindou cleared the board and placed it back into his bag.

'_Um…Hikaru, Aren't you late for your study session at Waya's?' _Sai spoke up for the first time in one hour.

"Huh? Wahhhhh~ Waya's gonna kill meeeeee~"cried Shindou

"What?"

"Touya! I'm late! I gotta go to Waya's! Bye!"

'_Hikaru! The kifu!' reminded Sai._

"Ah! I almost forgot! Get well soon Touya and I hope you come to your next match! Bye bye!" Shindou stuffed the kifu into Touya's hand and took off in a flash.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"SHINDOU! WHERE THE (BEEP) WERE YOU? YOU'RE LATE!"

"I WAS ONLY 30 MINUTES LATE! DON'T BE SUCH A WORRYWART!"

"ONLY? IF SOMEONE ELSE WAS THAT LATE I'D ASSUME HE WASN'T COMING!"

"WELL I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU ARRIVE ON TIME!"

"AT LEAST I'M NOT LATE EVERY SINGLE TIME LIKE SOMEONE!"

"HEY I AM SO NOT LATE EVERY TIME!"

"YES YOU ARE"

"SO NOT!"

"SO RIGHT!"

"SO NOT!"

"SO RIGHT"

"SO-"

"OH PLEASE SHUT UP ALREADY!" Kadowaki, Honda and Saeki shouted together.

"Honestly! If I never knew better I'd thought you two were grade schoolers!" Ochi.

"Ochi's right, I haven't got all night you know," Isumi.

"Isumi, you took the words right out of my mouth" Nakayama

"Humph!" Shindou & Waya

Waya had sent 5 sms to Shindou, all of them said 'hurry up!' or something like that, but Shindou never replied any of them. It's no wonder the redhead was fuming when Shindou arrived.

"My phone's battery was dead, that's why I never replied. Geez, Waya chill!"

"Okay! Shows over! Let's review my game from yesterday first!" Isumi intervened before Waya blew his top.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

*1.5 hours later*

"Let's continue tomorrow. I'm hungry!" Kadowaki groaned as he patted his flat stomach.

"Yeah! I'm starving!" Shindou agreed.

"I'll take my leave then," Ochi said as he packed his things.

"Hey, anyone wanna join me for dinner?" Asked Waya

"Are you treating?" Honda

"No, you pay for your own meal."

"Ok, I'll eat with you" Honda

"Me too" Shindou

"I'm taking my sister out" Nakayama

"Bye" Ochi

"I'm eating in" Kadowaki

"I guess I'll go" Isumi

"Morishita sensei invited me to dinner tonight" Saeki

Soon, only Waya, Honda, Isumi and Shindou were left debating on what to eat.

"Sushi!" Waya

"Ramen!" Shindou

"Kare Raisu*!" Honda

"3-way Janken!" Isumi

*20 minutes later*

"I didn't know you like curry, Honda-san." Waya said as they browsed through the menu.

"I kinda started liking it last month after I tasted my cousin's home-made curry, it was delicious!" Honda replied.

"Hah…maybe we should go over and taste some…you were eating curry, right?" joked Waya

"Yeah, why?"

"When you said that, you sorta blushed, so I thought…" Waya trailed off, his own face turning bright red

"You hentai." Honda grinned

The four burst into laughter just as the waiter arrived.

"Konbanwa, boku Hiro desu. May I take your order?"

After everyone had ordered, Hiro took back the menus and went away.

"So…Anyone looking forward to this year's Wakajisen?" Waya started the conversation.

"This is the first and last year I get to participate in it as a pro; I want to at least make it to the third round." Isumi sighed

"I wanna play Touya!"

"Is playing Touya Akira the only thing on your mind? Don't you care about winning?" Waya ruffled Shindou's hair (Shindou was sitting next to Waya).

"Ow! Stop! I also wanna win, but before I win I have to beat Touya!"

"Hey,I heard the winner of this year's Wakajisen gets a promotion. Is that true?" Waya let go of Shindou's head.

"Yeah, it's true. If a pro wins he gets a promotion in dan, but if an insei wins he automatically becomes pro." Honda answered

"But it's practically impossible for an insei to win," piped Waya.

"It's also impossible for us to win too with Touya Akira around." Isumi said dejectedly

"Oi! How can you say that with me sitting right in front of you?"

4 pairs of eyes (including Sai) turned to look at Shindou as he smoothed his hair which looked like a birds nest.

"You say that but have you ever beaten Touya before?" Honda asked

'_Actually, Hikaru just beat him 2 hours ago…but only by half moku' _Sai answered for him

'_You sound like you're disappointed,' _Shindou crossed his arms.

'_That's not true~' _denied Sai.

"Err…Shindou, moshi moshi are you still there? And why are you staring at the other table?" Waya knocked on Shindou's head.

"Oh…um…hehehe…"

"Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy!" Hiro arrived just in the nick of time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" Shindou waved as he stepped out of the MRT.

"Don't be late or Waya will blow up!" Isumi threatened jokingly before the doors shut.

Shindou and Sai walked out of the station together as usual.

'_Study kifus tonight?' _Sai asked

'_Whose?'_

'_Erm….You're now in the Tengen main tournament right? Who are you playing first?'_

'_I don't know yet.'_

'_The 2__nd__ match of the Kisei 3__rd__ prelim's?'_

'_I think its Yamada 5-dan'_

'_Who's that?'_

'_Argh~ don't ask me…Guess we'll study Touya Kouyo's.'_

Sai's eyes glowed dangerously when Shindou mentioned Touya Kouyo. If it was Shindou Hikaru from one year ago, he would've brushed it off. But Shindou now paid more attention to his mentor.

'_Sai? What's wrong?'_

'_Oh…nothing, I just…erm…nevermind.'_

'_Tell me…please?'_

'_It's nothing.'_

'_Sai…If there's something you want, you can ask,' _Shindou read his mind.

'_I know I'm being selfish…but I want to play Touya Kouyo one more time, I'm asking for the impossible, and—' _Shindou put his hand up to stop Sai from rambling on.

'_I'll try to talk to Touya, but you'll have to wait a while though.'_

'_Hikaru…Arigato,' Sai_ was in tears.

'_Sai! You're making me want to puke!'_

'_Ah~ Gomenasai~'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Touya residence

(Touya Akira pov)

After I put away my Chinese and Korean books, my eyes landed on a piece of paper on the floor. Another look told me that it was a kifu. I stood wondering what a kifu was doing out of the study room. Then it hit me, this was the kifu that Shindou gave me this afternoon. I picked it up and put it back on my desk, but as I did so, I saw the players' names:

Black: Shindou Hikaru

White: Sensei

My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets when I saw who played white. From what I know, Shindou didn't have a go teacher, and so my curiosity got the better of me; I abandoned the thought of sleep and studied the kifu.

I felt my palms getting sweatier as I got deeper into the game. By the 40th move, I had reached the conclusion that white, or 'sensei' was Sai.

'_Shindou is trying to tell me that he is Sai's student…But how can this be? Because 'Sai' is another Shindou…unless, I'm wrong? I only know 2 facts about Sai. One is that he is Shindou's sensei, second…only Shindou knows who he really is. Argh! Shindou baka! You're making me even more confused!'_

(End of pov)

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

*The next day (10:55 am) *

'_Yippeeeeeee! A miracle! Hikaru actually got here early!' _Sai whooped

'_You act like I never arrive early for anything.' _

'_Oh but it's true'_

'_Give me three examples.'_

'_Yesterday for Waya's study session'_

'…'

'_Also yesterday for the tengen 3__rd__ prelims'_

'_...'_

'_And third time yesterday to Touya's house. Translation, you were late three times in one day :)'_

'…_..You're enjoying this aren't you?'_

'_No :)'_

'_You deny it but you're smiling!'_

' _: )' _

'_Oh forget it!' Shindou crossed his arms and leaned against the wall._

"Ahem!" came a deep voice; Shindou looked up and saw an obese man towering in front of him.

"You…" the sho-dan gritted his teeth.

"That's no way to treat your seniors! Oh how I hate snotty brats!" The last part was more to himself. "Well, let's get this over with! Come!" Ida grabbed Shindou by the collar and dragged him into the lift followed by Sai who was glaring angrily.

"Thanks, I can walk myself!" Shindou slapped the hand away from his shirt.

"Like I'd want to touch slimy little brats!" spat Ida.

When they reached the playing area, Ida went for the table where many people could see him play.

"Gee, are you sure you want to show everyone your defeat?" Shindou asked coldly before sitting opposite Ida.

"Don't get conceited, kid! I'll crush you! That'll teach you, a **sho-dan**, to mess with me, a **6-dan**! Saliva flew across the table.

Ida's outburst caught many players' attention. Immediately, they started whispering to one another.

"It's him. The one I played shidogo with last week"

"He's terrible! He keeps luring me into those traps and smirks at every other move. When I play him I get the feeling I've done something wrong every other move. Waste of my money!"

"I only hired him at first because he has the highest dan ranking on the list! No seconds for me!"

"He was merciless! It took a week for me to fully get over it!

"And he has the nerve to blame my play on the quality of boards!"

"Who's that kid playing against him? Poor thing…"

"And he's only a sho-dan too…"

And so on…

Even a toddler could tell that Ida Zaru 6-dan was infamous around here. Shindou and Sai happened to catch all the comments.

'_Hikaru! Please let me play him! I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget!'_

'_I told you you can play him! Do me a favor and slice him in half!'_

"Hey! Brat! Nigiri!"

Shindou did as he was told and grabbed a handful of stones from the goke. Both released the stones and Ida counted his.

"Two…four…six…Hmmm…I'm white…"

The two pros bowed to each other.

"Onegaishimasu!"

'_17-4' _

_Clak! _

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

In the playing area on the 2nd floor of the go institute, a crowd had gathered around a table in the centre. This was very unusual as people couldn't care less how others were playing. But given that Ida Zaru, one of the players, was infamous. Onlookers had their hopes high of his defeat.

Deep in their minds, all the onlookers pitied the sho-dan who was about to get crushed by the 6-dan…or so they thought. But their frowns turned to smiles as their only hope (of revenge) slowly gained lead.

Ida Zaru wished that this was a nightmare. This kid…Shindou Hikaru, his playing was…stronger, fiercer and different from yesterday. He gulped and put his stone on the board.

_Clak!_

_Clak_

Shindou immediately countered his attack. No matter how Ida looked at him, he was no different than a hungry tiger craving for blood. The aura around him is also heavier; it was so strong he could feel his pulse racing. His eyes…they were the scariest, so full of determination and hate…all directed at him.

He found his hand shaking; he gripped his trousers tightly and took a deep breath. When he released the fabric, he saw that it was wet with sweat.

He had been so confident on beating this kid, he was certain that he could beat him anyday judging from yesterday's strength. But he had realized the shocking truth: his strength yesterday was only 1/10 of his strength today. This means…he wasn't even taking yesterday's match seriously, but Ida was going all out. No matter how much he denied it, but inside…he knew that he was no match for the boy.

So…this is how being crushed feels, Ida thought sadly. He had been too cowardly to play anyone of higher dan than him…save for Gokiso.

Ida had never lost badly before except for when he played Touya Akira. But he had thought that lost because he was nervous and couldn't think straight when in reality, Touya Akira was about five times his strength.

And now…he had witnessed the strength that beat that by ten times. Shindou Hikaru…just who are you?

"I…resign" He whispered in a raspy voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Shindou's emerald green eyes pierced into his.

"I resign! God damn it!" He ran out of the room in the verge of tears. He had never experienced a defeat so…cruel and tormenting before.

The minute Ida was out of earshot, the room was full of cheers. Those who never bothered to watch the game flocked over in curiosity.

"Hey kid! Great job defeating that troll! How did you do it?"

"Yeah kid, we owe you one!"

"Hey guys! It's rude calling him 'kid'! What's your name?" A woman with red hair in her mid twenties silenced the whole room.

"Shindou"

"Well…Shindou-sensei, what are your thoughts on that tro- I mean, Ida?" she acted as a reporter.

"First, he's a sore loser. Second, his playing is like a 1-kyu. Lastly, he's fat and ugly".

Everyone burst into laughter at Shindou's response.

"I can't believe you beat a 6-dan…Are you sure you're only 1-dan?"

"I'm so hiring him for my next shidogo lesson." There were murmurs of agreement to that statement.

"Why bother…I'm only just a sho-dan" Shindou smiled modestly.

"So you really are a sho-dan? I can't believe it! A sho-dan crushing a 6-dan in 10 minutes is unheard of!"

"Can you come to this go salon? You may just be a 1-dan but I think you're amazing!" A piece of paper landed in Shindou's hand.

"Hold on a second! He may just be a sho-dan officially…Shindou-sensei, what do you think your rank is?" the same woman asked

"The same as Touya Akira!" The pro answered with a wide grin. He cut his way through the crowd and headed straight for the door, leaving the whole room silent once again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Author's notes

Firstly, I apologize for the long wait. I've been travelling, so I just started typing it all out on around last few days. Secondly, LA was so cold _ I'm asian so I can't stand temperatures below 15. Anyways I'll try to upload another chapter before new year.

*kare raisu = Curry rice (I 3 those!)

Lastly I apologize for any mistakes in Japanese or English. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Please review

Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7 Dueling Dragons

Chapter 8: Dueling Dragons

(I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO)

**Happy New Year! A few pointers: Firstly, I don't know a lot about go, so don't expect any commentaries. Secondly, this is similar to chapter 191, so maybe you should go read that first. Lastly, please note that I'm only a beginner at writing fanfics, so please take it easy on me .**

**Enjoy.**

The Go Institute is bustling with excitement, today is the 11th Wakajisen Tournament held annually. For once, Shindou Hikaru had managed to arrive 20 minutes before it started, much to Sai's relief.

Shindou walked out of the lift to the 6th floor and scanned around for his friends. He spotted Waya talking with Komiya nearby. Just as he was about to greet them, Kosemura who wanted to get some pre-match thoughts, approached him first.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu, Shindou-kun"

"Kosemura-san, Ohayo Gozaimasu"

"How are you feeling? Are you confident in beating Touya-kun today?"

"I'll have to beat my Insei opponent first." Shindou smiled and excused himself; he was not in the mood for an interview right now.

While Waya went to the bathroom, Komiya saw Shindou and went over to him.

"Shindou, see those two insei over there?" Komiya gestured over to where Oka and Shoji are standing "That girl's Oka, your first opponent, and the boy is Shoji. They're only 5th graders you know?"

"Don't underestimate them because they're young and ranked low. I was also the 16th Insei, remember?"

Shoji and Oka had been watching Shindou since he stepped into the room, so it must've been a shock when he and Komiya started staring and them.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Oka nudged Shoji

"Well, Komiya must've told him about you looking down on his skills."

Oka was left speechless by that remark.

Just then, Touya Akira walked past them over to Shindou, Oka's eyes flashed as she gave Shoji a sly smile.

"You did say you were going to win, right?"

"No, Baka! I was just…" he stuttered

Both of them jumped as they heard Shindou's voice.

"Those two kids over there…the boy is your opponent." Shindou pointed at them

Touya took one look at the two before disregarding them completely.

'_Oh…So I'm just a speck of dust to him huh? He totally ignored me straight away!' _Shoji said in his head.

"Hey…at least he even bothered to look." Oka tried to think positively

After a while, an announcement was made "The 11th Wakajisen will soon start, participants please take your places as indicated in your schedules. Starting from here…"

Once everyone was seated the announcer gave some last instructions "In the first match, all inseis will be playing a pro player. Insei plays black…begin when you are ready."

"Onegaishimasu!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

*1 hour later*

"What the hell…he totally crushed me." Shoji mumbled as he slumped onto the bench

"Hah…I'm beat." Oka joined him

"In a blink of an eye, the game was decided. In my heart, I knew I was done for."

"Me too, Shindou uses tactics I have never even seen before. All of a sudden, it can't be helped anymore."

"Touya Akira is really good…I still can't believe I played against him."

"Shindou Hikaru too…But, we knew this was gonna happen from the start…right?"

If someone had beaten a gong, it would've complimented the aura emitting from the two inseis…very depressing.

Shoji then gave the ceiling a determined look. "I'll try harder to become pro…this match made me realize that the pro world isn't paradise."

"Me too…" Oka agreed. She was glad that Shoji was starting to take go seriously.

"And I'll participate in the Hokuto cup!" That made all the admiration Oka had for him vanish into thin air.

Before she could argue with him, Kosemura, who was passing by, overheard their conversation and commented "So you want to participate in the Hokuto cup? Wow…it's not only heating up young pros, but the insei as well!"

"Yeah! The formation used and the matches were great!" Shoji said eagerly

"Korea and China were good but Shindou, Touya and Yashiro fare well against them!" Oka started getting into it.

"That's right…even though Japan lost; those three representatives have drawn the attention of the world!"

"Don't worry, we'll win for sure when out time comes!" Shoji declared

"B-b-b-baka!" Oka's cheeks flushed

"Anyways, I'll definitely be first board when the time comes!"

"Listen to yourself! You're not even pro yet! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Oka let out a long sigh "Even in today's matches, we couldn't do anything against Shindou Hikaru and Touya Akira"

"Touya Akira is going to face Shindou Hikaru in the second round. Who do you think will win?" Kosemura asked.

"Definitely Touya" muttered Shoji.

"Huh? I thought you said Shindou was better?" Oka inclined

"But after playing him, I realized that Touya's stronger!"

"No! Shindou is!"

"Hey! How come you changed your mind too?"

And the battle goes on…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Shindou!"

Shindou and Sai turned around to see Waya running in their direction.

"How did you do, did you win?" Waya was jittery

"Yeah, you?"

"Of course! I'm playing Mashiba next! I'll totally send him crying to his mommy!"

"Eh? Komiya lost?"

"Badly…the poor fella, having to be Mashiba's laughingstock." Waya said bitterly

"How about the others?

"Fuku won, but Nase and Honda-san lost."

"Honda-san lost to Adachi?"

"He said that he made a mistake and Adachi pounced on it. He lost by 1.5 moku."

"Well…it happens."

"Hey, let's make a bet, if you lose you'll treat me to sushi. Fair enough?"

"Fine. Then if you lose you'll treat me to ramen."

"Deal!" Both pros shook hands.

"What are you guys doing here?" Isumi appeared

"Isumi-san, you finished? Did you win?"

"Yeah…I'll be playing some insei called Mai next, how about you?"

"Komiya lost, so Mashiba's next on my list."

"…Can't believe Komiya lost…Shindou, you'll be facing Touya next?"

"You heard?"

"Who hasn't?" Waya and Isumi said together.

"Huh?"

"With Kosemura-san talking so loud like that, I'm surprised the whole building hasn't heard." Waya sighed "You're really popular nowadays you know that?"

"I am?"

Isumi and Waya looked at each other. Sometimes, they don't know whether Shindou was being overly modest or just plain stupid. They both suspected it was the latter.

Suddenly, the buzzer sounded and an announcement was made for all second round participants to get ready.

"Anyways, good luck to both of you. If all goes well, we'll see each other in the third round." Isumi went off

"Yeah, hopefully, neither of us will be treating." Waya waved before heading to his table.

Shindou took his seat. A few seconds later he was joined by Touya. Their eyes met and electricity flew across. It just shows how strongly they want to play each other. Some unfortunate fellas who were caught in the flow jumped in fright.

Among all the matches, Touya's and Shindou's had the most spectators. It wasn't that they were interested in their rivalry; in fact, they didn't even know that such a thing existed. They just wanted to watch the 1st board and 2nd board of the Hokuto tournament play each other.

Suddenly, the crowd parted. For Kurata Atsushi 7-dan has arrived, since he was previously their manager, he got the front seat. Oka and Shoji used this opportunity to snag the best spot right beside Kurata.

"Now, we'll start the second round of the 11th Wakajisen. Please begin when you are ready."

This was the moment both of them had been waiting for. Both nigiried, Shindou got black.

Shindou took a deep breath and placed his stone on 17-4.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kosemura cursed as he ran toward the lift. How could he miss the most important match of the tournament? Although he didn't know much about go, he still wanted to watch. As soon as he heard the announcement, he dashed out of his office. He had intended to sort out a few notes then go back, but it seemed he took too long.

He jabbed the 'up' button repeatedly. In less than a minute, he was on the 5th floor. He rushed over to where Touya and Shindou were and sqeezed through the audience.

Surprisingly, none of them uttered a single complaint even when Kosemura accidently stepped on their toes. He soon got his answer, for Touya and Shindou were playing at a rapid speed, quivering with excitement. It was as if they couldn't wait to play each other, leaving all spectators in awe.

After a while more, some people started to leave. Kosemura being one of them. He was having trouble breathing. The pressure was just too great. It was like watching two dragons duel each other with the attempt to kill. He could see it in their eyes, the burning passion, and the intensity. Such things were rarely found in lower dans, or even players as young as them. He soon found out that he was sweating all over.

The crowd got thinner and thinner. Soon, there were only some pros and inseis were left. Kosemura's eyes landed on two chibi figures beside Kurata. So, those two could also withstand the pressure. Even a few lower dans started leaving. Interesting…maybe they'll pass the pro exam this year.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I…"

"Sorry?"

"I resign."

"Huh? I can't hear you."

"Don't act so smug!"

"Excuse me; we are in a middle of a game now. It's your turn."

"…"

"Or you want to surrender?"

"…"

"I don't have all day you know!"

"You…YOU!" The blonde man lunged at his opponent.

"Hey! Cut it out!" A brunette pried the two apart.

"Chi…Fine! I resign! But don't think you'll get a second win out of me!" The (crazy) blonde man stomped away with his nose in the air.

Everyone was quiet before the brunette cheered "Whoopee! Good job Waya!"

The cluster of people (mostly insei) who had longed to beat the arrogant Mashiba Mitsuru would've thrown Waya Yoshitaka into the air if not for the Wakajisen going on.

"Thanks Nase! He really deserved it!" He answered the brunette.

"Hey, thanks for avenging me" Komiya patted Waya's shoulder

"No problem! It was quite fun actually"

"Ano…you won?"

"Yeah! What about you, Fuku?"

"I lost…"

"To who?"

"To Ochi…" The chubby boy answered dejectedly

"Don't worry, Isumi-san is due to play him next, he'll surely avenge you." Nase said brightly

"Oi…Aren't we forgetting someone here?" Waya asked no-one in particular

"Oh yeah! Shindou! I wonder how he's doing!" The trio made a beeline towards their friend

They arrived just in time for the endgame. By then, the pace has slowed down. But it was still fast, say 15 seconds per hand.

Finally, both passed and began counting territory. The remaining people waited with bated breath. It was a really good game, but there has to be a winner.

Touya and Shindou sat in silence. Each not daring to move, they had already received the results of their second official match. It was really close, just a half moku difference.

When they had started counting territory, the people who escaped the pressure came back again, including Kosemura. He didn't know a lot about go so the board looked like a cluster of black and white to him. When he asked who had won, the two players just shrugged and left. Kurata also seemed to have disappeared at some point.

"Shindou! That was Amazing! I've never seen you play this type of game before!" Nase caught up

"It wasn't all that great, besides…I lost."

"Honestly! Morishita sensei will blow it once he finds out" Waya joined them

"How about you, did you win?" Shindou asked the redhead

"Yep! Mashiba practically screamed like a girl! Hahaha!"

"Great! Guess I'll be treating you to sushi then!" Shindou gave a forced smile.

"Um…So how did you all do? I won." Isumi, having just finished his second round, trotted over to the group.

"I just kicked Mashiba's ass, Fuku lost to Ochi though, so be sure to avenge him and send that squirt to the toilet!"

"No guarantees, Shindou…?"

"I lost. Well, it's only by half moku anyways" Shindou shrugged

"You okay?" Honda arrived just in time to hear the news

"I'm Fine…Besides, it's not like I never won against Touya before…just not in an official match."

"Wait, you actually _won_ him before?" Fukui's eyes bulged

Shindou nodded his head.

"By how many-" Honda was interrupted by a growling stomach.

"Sorry, I'm hungry." Waya threw up his hands in defense

Chuckling, Isumi said "C'mon, let's go eat."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

In the end, Touya Akira 4-dan won the Wakajisen the 3rd year in a row. The runner up was Isumi Shinichiro sho-dan. Many find it surprising that a sho-dan can get this far, but of course; it was also Isumi's luck to not get paired with Touya until the final round.

Waya Yoshitaka 2-dan had not been so fortunate; he had conceded defeat after facing the star in the fourth round while Ochi Kousuke 2-dan sat weeping in the toilet for an hour since he lost to Isumi in the third round.

Shindou's and Touya's match had been the talk of the town, not one thought that Shindou Hikaru would fare so well against Touya Akira, he was the closest one yet.

And if anyone thought their luck was screwed, they should compare themselves to the inseis Oka and Shoji who got smashed to pieces in the 1st round by the two young prodigies. No mercy indeed.


	8. Chapter 8 The Most Funny Commentary

Chapter 9: The most entertaining commentary

I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO

_Ton! _Ton_! _(Fan tapping on goke)

"Arimasen…"

"Arigato Gozaimasta"

Shindou snapped his fan shut while his opponent (he forgot his name) quickly cleared the stones and dashed out of the room in tears.

'_You shouldn't have intimidated the poor guy like that. You just shattered his resolve!' Sai proceeded to hit Shindou with his fan._

'_I can't help it! It's like soooooooooo boring!'_

'_Just because you're bored doesn't give you the right to crush him!'_

Shindou couldn't agree more but wouldn't admit it out loud. He had no idea what was wrong with him nowadays. After the Wakajisen one week ago, his life suddenly became duller and he was always sighing here and there, as if all the excitement was drained out of him.

Shindou tidied up the board and went out to mark his easily-achieved victory. What did he expect anyway? This was the second match of the Ouza 3rd prelims for god's sake; the real challenge is in the main tournament. Touya was not playing today, but that didn't matter since they'll see each other this evening at his go salon. He left the institute in a good mood at the thought.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"How COULD you miss it? This is the basic of the basics!" Today, Touya was the first to lose his patience

"Then what about this keima over here? Does it need to have a neon sign saying 'I'm here!' for you NOT to miss it?" Shindou retorted.

Touya stopped to stare at the stone and scratched his head, embarrassed. "Fine! You win!" He slumped back into his seat.

They played out the moves, stopping once in a while to comment on something. Sai watched with joy as he got to hear the two top junior players in Japan discussing games, although he hated it when talking turned to screaming.

"Heh! Well, no wonder you got knocked out of the Honinbo league…Again!" Shindou hit where it hurts

"Oi! Shindou! Show some respect to Akira-sensei! Don't act so high and mightly!" Kitajima bellowed from two tables away.

"Right! Sensei's a 4-dan now! And you're just a measly 1-dan!" Another patron agreed

'_What about you? You're just an amateur who can't even do basic Joseki properly!' _Shindou yelled in his head

This was where Sai was really confused. All go players deserved respect no matter what rank, it is common to find two players disagreeing on a move although with Touya and Hikaru are concerned, it's a bit extreme. But even so, Hikaru deserved more respect than this. Those patrons acted like whoever went against Touya Akira should be beheaded.

Shindou did his best to control his emotions as he didn't want to have Kitajima's spit flying all over his face. Hikaru had gotten more patient, Sai could give him that.

Touya also wasn't sitting well with this. Did it matter what rank he and Shindou was? Sure he appreciated the patrons (overly) support, but this is getting ridiculous! They didn't have to bear their fangs at Shindou every time he sent verbal insults; he can defend himself just fine. Plus, Shindou might get fed up and leave…permanently, and that was the last thing Touya wanted. But as much as he wanted to tell those men to shut their mouths, he was raised to be a polite boy and could not even dream of doing so.

Touya sent an apologetic look to his rival before clearing the stones; they had discussed enough.

"Shindou, did…" Touya began. He had wanted to bring up the subject of the 'Sai' kifu but did not dare to. Shindou also never mentioned about it but he was itching to know the truth.

"Did what?" Shindou asked

"Did…the association tell you to do any commentaries lately?" Touya quickly added, he had a feeling in his gut that if he brought that up, Shindou would storm off.

"Huh? What's that out of the blue?"

"Now's the season to promote go, just wondering whether you're schedule's packed like other pros"

"No but I have more teaching game requests"

"Mm" Touya nodded

The conversation ended as that as they decided to play another game.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shindou reached home late at night. He declined dinner and went up to his room to study with Honinbo Shuusaku, aka Sai. He got his goban out and Sai went over to sit opposite him. They just played until forty moves when they heard Mitsuko call out to them.

"Hikaru! The association called!"

"Coming!"

Hikaru got the receiver from his mother and put it to his ear.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Shindou-kun?" An unfamiliar voice

"Hai, what do you need from me?"

"We scheduled you to do a commentary of a friendly match between Nozomi 7-dan and Kitazawa 6-dan at Hotel XYZ with Jingo 4-dan. It is to promote go among the elderly."

"…Hai, when is it?"

"It's on Monday at 11am"

"Wakarimasu"

Shindou put the receiver down. So this was what Touya meant, but he didn't really mind, since it helped others to understand go better.

*Saturday*

Shindou was already at the place since 10.30. He was clad in a dark blue suit and a red tie. The staff told him to wait at the lounge while they phoned his partner on his whereabouts. He wasn't bored since he brought his ipod along. Sai disapproved of him wearing earphones since it harmed his ears, so he only listened whenever he was bored until nearly falling asleep.

Just then, an elderly staff came up to him and told that Jingo's wife has gone onto labor today and he has to rush to hospital, but the association already found another 4-dan to replace him.

Shindou followed the guy to the waiting area. He got a glimpse of the stage; the players and the speakers will be slightly apart from each other and will be in full view of the audience.

The guy went over to talk to his colleague nearby and then over to another person in a lavender suit. Suddenly, Sai pointed out that the newcomer is familiar which caused Shindou to stare.

He looks around Shindou's age, but has a bob hairstyle. Shindou had a really good guess but didn't want to be correct…then; he bowed to the two men and turned around, it was then Shindou could see his features very clearly.

"Touya!" Drat, he was correct after all.

"Shindou!" His face was priceless. Shindou suddenly wished he had his camera right now.

"I can't believe you're the replacement!"

"And I can't believe you're the 1-dan they're talking about"

"Geez…I'd better go pray more often, my luck is totally screwed"

"I could say the same thing, working with you is no better than working with monkeys"

"What did you say?"

"I said that you're no better than—"

"Ahh! Dammit! I hate it when you're like that!" Shindou stomped off and Touya went in the opposite direction

'_Hikaru, Touya seems to be better at being sarcastic, don't you think?' _Sai just added oil to fire

The staff was confused, other than competing in the Hokuto cup together; they didn't have any other thing in common. In fact, they shouldn't even be close. And what made it more shocking is that Touya was being rude and sarcastic! The eighth wonder of the world!

When it was time, Shindou took a peek from outside; the whole room was packed! He started feeling jittery. After all, this was his first commentary and of all people it had to be with Touya Akira! He was a great rival and friend, but something told him that Touya won't make a good work partner (except when they were playing against each other).

Touya placed a hand on his shoulder "Nervous?"

"O-of course not!"

"Good"

'_Geez! How cold could he get?'_ Shindou was fuming inside, he took another look at the stage and his mouth dropped open, there were cameras everywhere!

*From Touya's view*

Oh shit! Of all people to have his 3rd commentary with, it HAD to be Shindou Hikaru! He was his friend and rival, but then Touya had a nasty feeling that they wouldn't fare well with each other when working, except when they had official matches of course, that was good. Frankly, he'd rather work with Ochi than him right now!

He studied the stage; they and the players would be next to each other, there were a lot of camers. From the looks of it, he and Shindou would sit on a couch together and follow the game on a foldable gobam.

To make matters worse, Shindou was starting to shake slightly, that told Touya that he was nervous, that's just great. He put his hand on his rival's shoulder in terms of comfort.

"Nervous?"

"O-of course not!" Yeah, right. Your face just sold you out

"Good"

Touya left it as that as he didn't want another argument, especially in front of the population of Japan. This was going to be a live broadcast and he didn't want anyone to witness the other side of him. So far, only Shindou Hikaru managed to wake that side of him every time they see each other. Ogata came close, but not there yet.

Then, a lady told them to go up; he and Shindou did as told. After the players introduced themselves, they did the same. Nozomi 7-dan had white and Kitazawa 6-dan had black.

The noise died down as the two players bowed to one another

"Onegaishimasu!"

*end*

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

(S) = Shindou speaking

(T) = Touya speaking

"Waya! Hurry up! It's starting!" Fukui banged on the door of the bathroom

"I know! Wait!" The owner of the apartment shouted

Isumi, Waya, Fukui, Nase and Honda had agreed to meet at Waya's apartment to watch the live match at XYZ hotel, not because they wanted to see the game, but they wanted to see Shindou's first commentary.

Unfortunately, Waya overslept. It took the whole group to wake him up (Waya gave them the spare key) and by the time he knew, Shindou and Touya was already walking onto the stage.

"…White approached from 6-17" Shindou's voice rang

"Hurry up!" Fukui shouted one more time before joining the rest of his friends in front of the TV.

The door swung open and Waya came out in Khaki shorts and a tank top, hair still dripping wet.

"Took you long enough!" Nase said as he sat down beside her

"Sorry! I came back from Morishita-sensei's late"

"Shh!" Isumi hushed the two

"…On the upper left, a joseki was played" (T)

"After Joseki then a low approach" (S)

"Black did a high pincer then white did a leaning keima at 15-4. In my opinion, the niken tobi here will be better than the leaning keima in this situation" Touya demonstrated

"No it's not! I think doing the tsuke over here is better!" Shindou put the white stone at 15-3

"That's too direct for my liking…but it is a good move" Touya added hastily

"Anyways, black pushed through and separated" (S)

"White's next move here is a basic joseki" (T)

"Black straightforwardly puts 15-4 white into Atari; it's a very solid move" (S)

"But if black had wanted to play more aggressively, he would've connected here" Touya slid the stone up to 14-5 "I would've probably done that if I was playing now"

"It's a bit too aggressive, although very advantageous, I would prefer to play solidly" Shindou brushed the stone off

Touya muttered something to Shindou and he answered back with a face looking ready to kill

"…White played a hane over here." Touya chose to ignore whatever he said

"But I would play Atari over here instead" Shindou moved the stone to 15-6 "Black would then be forced to extend, then I would go here next" Another stone landed on 15-8. There are now two white stones surrounding the black stone on 16-8.

"Shindou, didn't you see the opponent's star point over there?" A vein popping out of his head, Touya pointed up to 16-4 where a black stone was sitting "What if the opponent stretches out? If it was our star point then it would benefit us" Touya removed the stones and replaced them so it shows the actual game. "Now the game advances on to the lower left…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The result was black's win by 1.5 moku. The audience left, satisfied. After all, the top two teenage pros gave them loads of advice. But the most entertaining part was how they went against each other's suggestions most of the time. When it was the endgame, Shindou looked like he was going to pummel Touya with stones and the latter looked like he wanted to flip the board over. Even the man with the worst eyesight could see that the two had veins all popping up all over their faces. Some of the audience wanted them do to more commentaries together while some were just grateful that it ended peacefully.

*At Touya's go salon*

"Phew! Lucky they didn't blow it!" Ichikawa Harumi wiped sweat from her forehead

"What were they thinking? Pairing young master with Shindou?" Hirose wondered

"Maybe they thought they would make a good duo?"

"Bah! They should come here and see them bicker then they'll see!" Kitajima snorted

*At Shindou Heihachi's house*

"Haha, Hikaru and Touya Jr make a really funny pair" the old man laughed

"Father, Hikaru almost embarrassed himself in front of Japan!" Mitsuko said worriedly

"That will never happen, I'm sure of it!" Heihachi confirmed

"How do you know?" Misuko asked

"Didn't you see the depths of their friendship? If the other is in trouble, the other will pull him up. They won't embarrass each other openly; I know so since I had the same kind of rivalry between Tamachi-san. He was a great player and…" Heihachi droned on about his early life

"Oh no…" Mitsuko sighed "Not again…"

*At Waya Yoshitaka's apartment*

"Wahahahaha, did you see Touya's face when Shindou told him about the hane? It was like 'oh shit!' Hahahahaha!" Waya rolled on the floor

"It is funny, but don't forget their faces when their hands accidently bumped into each other when reaching for the stones?" Honda smirked "It was hilarious!"

"Remember the time that Shindou made a really bad move and when Touya pointed it out, he was 'oh I never saw that' and his face turned red?" Nase giggled

"Oh, and the time both of them made predictions on the next move. But both of them were wrong although they said they were sure, their faces turned even redder!" Fukui sniggered

"Hahaha! I nearly died laughing from that!" Honda recalled

"I've never seen a worse commentary than this!" Waya said

"True, for a minute I thought I was watching a comedy show!" Nase agreed

"Guys, lighten up on them! It was their first!" Although Isumi tried to stop them, he was also smiling

"Hahahahahahahaha!" The whole room echoed with laughter

Looks like Shindou will be having a really hard time

Author's notes

Sorry it took so long to update, like K.B.M says (in the reviews), I had writers block. The commentary was from the 6th LG Cup Semi-Final Match played in 2002 Lee Changhyo 9-dan vs Cho Hunhyun 9-dan (go youtube search if you want to watch, credits all there). I tweaked it a bit but then it's basically the same thing, it sucks right? But it's the best I can do, sorry…

Pls review!


	9. Chapter 9 My hero

Hikaru No Pro Go

Chapter 10: My Hero

(I DON'T OWN THIS)

'_Hikaru, isn't this the go salon we came to with Waya and Isumi?' _

'_Yeah, I've never been here for so long already so I figured I should drop by'_

The moment Shindou's foot stepped inside, someone shouted "Shindou-pro's here!"

'_It seems this place is lively as always' _Sai noted

Moments later, there was a crowd around the pro and questions were asked like reporters around a pop star. The only two people who wasn't around Shindou was Kawai and his opponent.

The said man was in deep concentration, playing a game with another patron. He wiped beads of perspiration from his forehead before bowing in resignation.

"Kawai-san, it's a rare sight to see you losing continuously to someone other than Shindou-pro, is your age catching up to you?" the owner teased

"She's good!"

"Yes she is, that's why I won't allow anyone who needs more than four handicap stones," Some of the patrons flinched and sweatdropped at the statement

"Kanou-chan, you realize that you can earn plenty of money by playing these men right? We don't mind if you charge us" The owner's wife said while refilling her glass

"It's okay, I don't need any money" A soft voice could be heard. Shindou turned towards the source and saw a girl sitting across a goban.

She had shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes, her skin was pale and Shindou thought she looked similar to Nase with only the skin tone and hairstyle differing.

"Oh yeah, you two haven't met right? This is Shindou Hikaru sho-dan and this is Kanou Akemi" a patron kindly introduced them both.

"He's a pro?" The pair of brown eyes widened

"Yep! He's the best player among us, sadly." Kawai gave the blond a noogie

"What do you mean sadly?" a ticked-off Shindou shouted from under Kawai's arm

"Kanou-chan, why don't you play a game with him and see how you stand?" The owner suggested

*Three days later*

At the Institute, Shindou finished his oteai game early and was putting on his sneakers when a young bald man ran sobbing from the room, surprising Sai.

Shindou however, was not deterred. He didn't even look behind when he spoke "so you're done?"

"Yeah" came a reply which caused Sai to whip around, he was greeted by the sight of the other go prodigy, Touya Akira

The two prodigies grabbed their bags and went down together in silence. When they reached the first floor, they bumped into Amano.

"Touya-kun! Shindou-kun! You both finished already? " The boys nodded in unison

"Perfect, Touya-kun, can I have a word with you? Excuse us Shindou-kun" the reporter said while beckoning the bob-haired boy to follow him

Shindou sighed. Although they were (nearly) equal in skill, the spotlight kept shining on only Touya and he was frustrated. It was not as if he craved for attention, some recognition was enough.

"So I'll be going…first…" Shindou started to shout at Touya but something, no, some_one _caught his eye.

'_Hm?' _Sai followed Shindou's gaze _'Oh…is that…?' _

XxXxXxXxXx

A girl with brown hair walked apprehensively into the Go Institute, she hovered around the entrance for a while before finally approaching the counter.

The brunette fidgeted for a second and muttered something shakily. The old man behind the counter was surprised by her request and he shook his head sadly.

"Can't you do something about it? I NEED to take the pro exam now!" the girl was on the verge of tears

"I'm sorry, miss. The deadline was last week, I cannot change that"

"But still, isn't there any way for me to take it?"

"Well, if you were sponsored by a pro then we'll consider that."

The girl's head dropped and she excused herself. She didn't even know a single go pro. However, she hardly made a step when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll sponsor her" A voice came. The girl jumped in fright and turned to see a familiar face, she eyed the newcomer hopefully.

"Shindou-kun! But…"

"Onegai" Shindou locked his green eyes into the other man's.

"Hai, right away" The old man looked a little taken aback. Why? Was he all that? The brunette couldn't help but wonder

Once everything was settled, her 'hero' gave her a thumbs up and left her standing there, hardly able to believe her luck

"You know him?" the man turned to the girl, admiration written on his face

"Sort off" Was her answer

XxXxXxXxXx

Although it was a day since she went to the Go institute, Kanou was still over the moon. After all, it wasn't everyday that some pro helps you out, especially a good one. When she reached home yesterday, she went and searched for some of Shindou Hikaru's kifus on the net. Her eyes popped out of her sockets when she saw that he only lost by ½ moku to Touya Akira, the go prodigy. No wonder she got thrashed back then! She also found out that Shindou went on a skipping spree from May to June last year, which was why his rank never increased.

Kanou sighed and twirled her pen, two weeks until summer vacation. Somehow, that seemed a long way off. The pro exam preliminaries are starting during summer vacation and she really wanted to prepare instead of sitting in school like this. As her History teacher droned on and on, she started doodling in her notebook to pass the time.

Author's notes

Hope you people don't mind an OC, and sry for the delay. I based Kanou Akemi on another anime character from 'Clannad', Furukawa Nagisa, so I technically don't own her as well.

Anyone who is confused over my (not really good) writing, the girl that Shindou helped out is Kanou.

For people who want to know, I'll most probably be updating in 2-3 weeks time, but no promises.

Thx and pls review :)


	10. Chapter 10 The nervewrecking exam stage1

Hikaru no Pro Go

Chapter 10: The nerve-wrecking pro exam, stage one

(I DON'T OWN THIS)

Nase Asumi swung her cream-coloured tote bag over her shoulder and walked out of the Go Institute alone. This was highly unusual as Nase was always surrounded with either her friends or fellow inseis, what's more is that a knitted brow and a frown replaced her usually bubbly face.

However, for those who had been insei for a pretty long time are pretty much doing the same thing as her; giving themselves space. The one and only pro exam is looming nearer by the day and every insei fends for himself (or herself), everyone is going to be rivals. If you stumble, no one is going to smile and help you up since their futures are on the line. That's the pro exam.

Soon, all her loving friends are going to be rivals as well, she always felt sad and insecure during these times, knowing that you'll have to battle it out with the very friends that supported you all the way. What's worse is that if they pass, they'll either sever ties with you or make half-hearted attempts to stay in touch. She has had plenty of that experience thank you very much.

Nase plugged in her earphones and listened to her favourite band as she was lost in her thoughts. This year will be her last; she's turning into an adult next year…better start looking for a proper university. Her academic results were good enough to get into a decent university and her parents only gave her one last chance.

'_Gee, thanks mom, dad. That really lessens the pressure'_ She let out a deep sigh. She was eighteen. Time passes so quickly…it almost seems like yesterday that she took the insei test.

Well, she had one week to prepare herself, and she was going to use her time fruitfully. In four months time, she'll either be weeping or whooping.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Makemashita" Nase whispered in a raspy voice, head bowed so low that her nose nearly touched the goban

"Arigato Gozaimasta" her opponent, a scrawny boy said smugly, pushing his oval glasses which were slipping off his long nose

Nase felt tears threatening to escape but forced it back; the last thing she needed now is pity and all the sympathetic gazes towards her were not helping.

Today was the last day of the prelims, which means that the outcome of this game determined whether or not she will participate in the pro exam

She failed…Nase trudged out of the institute with a zombie-like face. Her fringe covered her sore eyes and her clothes were instantly wet.

'Oh great, now my new shirt is soaked' Not that Nase cared, but she didn't want to hear her mother's nagging today.

It did occur to her to wait until the rain stopped or share an umbrella, but she wanted to hurry and curl up in bed alone…and cry.

She wasn't strong enough. Not even from being 4 years as an insei, all of her friends were either in the upcoming pro exam or have already passed.

Waya and Shindou…they had been so helpful, patiently giving her tips and sparing their precious time to help her when she asked, especially Shindou who should be preparing for the Meijin league. She could not bear to imagine their faces when they heard the news.

She might have thought that it was good that it rained because it covered her tears, but it was not so good anymore when she slipped on the muddy pavement and landed on her butt on the road. Things couldn't have gotten any worse with the traffic light turned green.

The last thing she remembered was a woman screaming…

"Asumi! Asumi!"

Nase woke with a jolt and saw her mother shaking her awake. She realized that her face was covered with sweat and tears and her pajamas were sticking uncomfortably to her skin.

"I heard you screaming, bad dream?" her mother asked while gently stroking her unruly brown hair.

Without warning, she burst into tears and hugged her mother tightly.

"I-I dreamed that I-I-I f-f-f-failed!" she sobbed into her mother's nightdress.

"It's ok, it's ok, you haven't taken the exam yet" her mother soothed, returning the hug with equal force.

It took a while to calm the girl down and she fell asleep on her mother's lap while listening to a lullaby. The middle-aged woman laid her daughter back on the bed and stepped out of the room, careful to not make any noise.

*7 hours later*

Nase fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as one by one, the candidates drew their opponent for today. Candidates are required to draw a number for each day for the preliminaries. When the instructor boomed out her name, Nase scurried over to the dreaded cardboard box and stuck a trembling hand inside.

She prayed silently as she unfolded the paper that decided her fate. She saw a '11' printed in the centre and gave it to the instructor who wrote her name and number on his clipboard. Still praying, Nase sat back in her original place and continued fidgeting with her skirt.

Finally after what seemed like a millennium, all the candidates had drawn a number and were finding their respective gobans. Nase stopped at hers and sat down, willing her fingers to stay still.

Her opponent was a mousey-haired boy around her age with loads of acne. She hasn't seen him before so she assumed that he was an outsider. A few minutes later, the buzzer sounded and she grabbed a handful of white stones to nigiri. Her fingers had stopped shaking.

XxXxXxXxXx

Second Day

Nase strolled along the curb, going in the same direction as many youngsters were heading; the Go Institute. It was the second day of the pro exam preliminaries. She hummed a tune, slightly happier than she was twenty-four hours ago. Why? Because she had snagged a win from the mousey-haired boy by resignation yesterday. He resigned way too quickly, not that she was complaining, but if her fellow top insei had taken over from then on, she would have just barely won.

Procedures were exactly the same as yesterday, except that she got number seven this time. She sat down on one side of goban number seven and a chubby girl with short flaming red hair slumped down opposite of her. She recognized the redhead to be an insei in second class, having played her just a few weeks ago.

Now Nase is not the type to underestimate opponents just because of their rank, after all, Shindou Hikaru, her **former insei **friend is a good example as to why, but she could not suppress a grin. She had trounced the girl when they played each other and she nearly left in tears, but no, Nase thought as she mentally slapped herself, she could have improved.

The buzzer sounded and the two girls nigiri-ed. To Nase's delight (and the redhead's horror), she had gotten black. Feeling her confidence shoot up immensely, she slammed down her first move with more force than necessary.

XxXxXxXxXx

Third day

10th rank insei Nase Asumi thought that this must be her lucky week, she woke up on the right side of the bed this morning and wasn't even nervous, unlike the past two days. If all goes well, she'll be celebrating and probably kissing everything in sight the next few hours.

She drummed her fingers on her knees, waiting for her turn to draw a number. After what seemed like forever, the matches started. She sat down on goban number 22 and came face-to-face with a young girl who looked like a middle school student.

She looked cutesy and adorable with shoulder-length hair that framed her face. Nase immediately dismissed her as another outsider.

The buzzer sounded and Nase plucked out a black stone from the goke. She watched her opponent count the white stones and her face fell.

The two swapped gokes and Nase waited for the first move. It came with a loud descending clack.

Time flowed really slowly as the players were lost in their own little world, Nase winced as the younger girl sealed the fate of the white clusters on the upper right corner.

'_How the hell have I managed to overlook that?' _Nase felt like boxing herself

A couple of hands came and went and Nase managed to turn the tables, her opponent seemed to have become agitated because she was slamming he stones in random places without thinking. Unsurprisingly, her opponent resigned with a face that looked like a three-year old who didn't get his candy.

Nase blinked, she blinked again, she slapped herself and poked the goban; it was solid. She had done it! She passed the prelims! Nase breathed deeply and a smile crept onto her face.

XxXxXxXxXx

Author's note

. . . . . .Well, I finally reached two-digit chapters! Sorry for the delay, I finished the plot long time ago but never got round to typing it until yesterday. Next chapter will be uploaded quicker though because I'm halfway done.


	11. Chapter 11 Pass or Fail?

Chapter 11: Pass or Fail?

(If I owned this would I even be here in the first place?)

**AN**

**Gomen! /\ Sorry for lack of updates (AGAIN), I know I sorta promised something last time but I didn't fulfill it so to make it up I'll be updating again in a few days to make up. And you can blame my lack of Internet connection for that.**

**Thank you for the review,*ahem* buti *ahem*, it's nice to know that there are still people actually reading this thing.**

**Since there have been some questions about the OC, I'll answer them now. No, I don't plan for a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship since our main protagonist is already married to go. The OC will not really appear much after the pro exam…if everything goes as planned.**

**IMPORTANT****: I wanna change the OC name; I felt that it's too crappy. Sorry for the inconvenience :( **

"Oi! Shindou!"

Shindou was alarmed as someone jerked him back by the shoulders, making him land flat on his backside. A teen with red-brownish windswept hair towered over him with a smirk on his face.

"Waya! You just scared the hell out of me"

"What? Have you turned into Kuwabara-Honinbo?"

Shindou muttered something almost inaudible and continued walking with his friend and a traumatized millennium-year-old spirit.

'_Teenagers these days…'_ Sai murmured, clutching his heart

"Ne, Shindou. Seen Nase recently?"

"No, why?"

"She passed the preliminaries"

"Huh?"

"The pro exam. Ring a bell?"

Shindou suddenly stopped to stare at Waya causing Sai to walk through him. Shindou felt a shiver run down his spine and his insides froze; it was like someone poured ice-cold water all over him.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Waya knocked Shindou's head in a comical way

"Ow! Stop!" Shindou whacked his hand away

"Geez, stop spacing out like that, for a moment there I thought you've seen a ghost" Waya pinched the younger boy's cheek

'_That's rude!' _Sai said, clearly offended by Waya's remark

'_Sai, he doesn't even know you exist'_ Shindou thought to Sai while still putting on an angry face. He was long used to not making it obvious when talking to Sai in public.

Waya fought the urge to laugh; he always found Shindou's temper funny, unless it was channeled through his go to him of course.

When Shindou learned that Nase advanced to the pro exam, he was quite surprised, not because of Nase, but because of how quickly time seemed to pass. It seemed like only last month that Isumi, Honda and Kadowaki had their shinsodan match. Come to think about it, he hadn't seen his ex insei-mates for quite some time.

Sai watched the people in the 'magic box' in front of what Hikaru called an Ill-Leg-Throw-Nick shop bounce an orange ball while the two youths stood chatting animatedly about go, music, arcades, Manga and whatnot.

XxXxXxXxXx

That evening, Shindou walked into an Internet café with a hyper spirit tailing behind him.

'_Wow, can't believe this is the same place where Mitani's sister used to work' _Shindou thought as he surveyed the repainted cream-coloured interior. Rigid metal chairs were replaced with chintz armchairs which were nearly all occupied. The linoleum floor was spotless and the walls were decked with ads and posters promoting summer camps and part-time jobs. The old rickety newspaper stand stood between a magazine stand and a brightly-lit pinball machine.

'_Forget about that! Come come! Make haste make haste!' _Sai burbled, pointing to an available computer nearby.

'_Okay okay, I'm coming' _Shindou said mentally, suppressing an exasperated sigh. But he couldn't blame Sai since all he had for an opponent was a weak, naïve, 16-year-old, him.

The computer booted up and Shindou clicked on the 'Internet' icon. He typed in the URL for NetGo and it redirected to the log-in page. Despite having not used it for years, Shindou clearly remembered the password and logged in. Now, he was Sai, the unbeatable ' Honninbo Shuusaku' on the net.

The minute he logged in, a stream of messages came through his inbox, which was untouched since they usually contain messages such as 'who are you?' and 'are you pro?'

A game request popped up from ' .sweets'. Shindou accepted and the game began.

It didn't take long for the duo to know that the guy was about insei level and thrash him. Just after ' .sweets' resigned, another request instantly appeared.

The process repeated until the computer timer was down to ten minutes, Shindou logged off much to Sai's dismay and went to the Go Association website. He scanned the 'Latest News' column and found out that it was packed with quotes, interviews, rankings and predictions for the pro exam.

Shindou clicked onto an external link and another tab popped up to show a chart. Those were the list of all the candidates for this year's exam. There were grey and white rows, the grey rows of those who already failed and the white rows are those who advanced to the real exam. He scanned the list and interestingly, there were more fails than passes.

At the bottom of the screen it read:

RESULTS 

PASSES: 5 outsiders, 17 inseis _[exclude. Top 8]_ (22)

FAILS: 11 outsiders, 25 inseis (36)

Well, that's a lot less than two years ago, thought Shindou as he scrolled back up to read more.

At the very top row, was Nase's name with her photo and age and all that stuff. Shindou recognized a few inseis here and there. To his surprise and delight, Tsubaki, the loud hairy guy from two years ago, was one of the outsiders who passed.

Sai watched his human companion peer intently at the screen, he was absolutely baffled. He thought that the thing was specially made for entertainment purposes, but from the scrunched-up look on the half-blond's face, it looks like he thought wrong. Modern Technology is so confusing sometimes.

'_Sai'_ The spirit heard his friend call him

'_Nani nani, are we playing more?' _

'_No, but look!' _Sai's eyes followed towhere Shindou's finger was tapping the screen.

'_Oh! See, I was right! My sixth sense never fails me!'_ Sai said smugly

'_Hai hai' _grumbled the moody teen

XxXxXxXxXx

"A-a-achoo!"

**Ayase Yuriko **_(__**A/N: Name changed**__)_, a mediocre fourteen-year-old girl was shivering in Kranji High school's multi-purpose hall. She was clad in a black tight-fitting tank top and PE shorts while all four air-conditionings were on full blast.

"The first match of the Inter-school Girls' Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition is due in a month's time, I will be adding one more practice per week…Now don't give me that look," Coach Emily said sternly as a few girls groaned "We'll need to practice even harder if we even want to make it pass the first round! Practice will now be on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. That is all, dismissed."

There was a mad scramble for the exit as everyone felt like frozen meat. Within minutes, the whole U15 Girls Rhythmic Gymnastics teams were out of the Arctic.

Ayase took her mobile phone out of her sports bag and dialed a taxi while all her teammates headed for either the school car park where their parents are or the bus stop.

As much as Ayase wanted to kick back and sleep in on the summer holidays, Coach Emily prevented her and six other unfortunate girls of that privilege by scheduling practices four out of the seven days of the week.

The yellow cab turned around the bend and screeched into a halt. Ayase clambered in and made herself comfortable as the cab took off.

"Tōkyō Ika Daigaku* in Nishi Shinjuku…right?" asked the driver

"Yes…the hospital please"

XxXxXxXxXx

It was around 7 pm when Shindou reached home.

"Tadaima!"

"Okaeri**" answered his mother "Hikaru! You have mail from the Association; it's on the kitchen table"

"It must have arrived!" he said excitedly, ripping the envelope to shreds. Sai looked on quizzically as he dodged the envelope shreds which went flying his way

_Meijin league _

_Shindou Hikaru (1-dan)_

_Ogata (Judan, Ouza) [11/07]_

_Ichiryu (Kisei) [07/08]_

_Kurata (7-dan) [22/08]_

_Kuwabara (Honinbo) [10/09]_

_Morishita (9-dan) [25/09]_

_Zama (9-dan) [24/10]_

_Tsusuki (7-dan) [21/11]_

_Nogi (Tengen) [12/12]_

The Meijin league consists of nine players in a round-robin tournament. The winner of the round-robin then becomes the challenger to play the current titleholder become defender, Hatanaka Meijin, in seven matches. If the challenger wins more than four of the seven matches, then he will become the next Meijin.

Shindou trembled as he read, there was over a month left until his first match, and it had to be against that mad glasses creep of all great freakin' players. He wasn't keen on being questioned on Sai again after his last encounter.

'_Is Ogata that violent man at the hospital last time?'_ See! Even Saint Sai remembers!

"Well, yeah. But you just watch! I'll wipe the board with his sorry ass!" Shindou unintentionally declared out loud, his eyes filled with determination.

"_Language, Hikaru!"_ Both Sai and his mother scolded simultaneously

Shindou stomped into his room and slammed the door (accidently) into Sai's face. Sai saw red and decided to stay in the corner behind the wardrobe as his human partner continued banging his head on the bed and ranting incoherent words.

Sai knew that Shindou had a very bad impression on the Judan, but even he thought that the teen was overreacting. Ogata wouldn't dare use violence in front so many people, besides Ogata wasn't_ that_ obsessed with him, so Hikaru shouldn't have any fears regarding that.

How very wrong he was.

**A/N (Again)**

**I'm not sure whether I got the rules for the Meijin league right, but that's the results of my research. If I got anything wrong, please leave a review or PM, I would hate to realize it many chapters later, it would be quite embarrassing (./.)**

***Tokyo Ika Daigaku: It's a Tokyo medical school. It comes with a hospital and it's located in the skyscraper city in Japan. Yes, it exists.**

****Okaeri: Welcome home, the 'formal' one is Okaerinasaimasu (?)**


End file.
